International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives PROBLEMS OF TEACHING CHINESE LANGUAGE IN/FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION Nguyễn Thu Trang, MA V ie tna m C o m m e rcia l U niversity, V ietnam Abstract One of the most crucial problems o f internationalization of HE in general and international joint programs in particular is teaching language In Vietnam, like in the world, most joint programs are conducted in English However, there are also many programs conducted in other languages, such as Russian, French, Japanese and Chinese This paper is focused on teaching Chinese as teaching language for the joint programs conducted in cooperation between the Vietnam Commercial University and Chinese universities After demonstrating the importance and possibility of diversifying teaching languages in internationalization of HE, the author studies the practice of teaching Chinese at the Department of International Programs, Vietnam Commercial University Some of the questions treated by this paper are those concerning curricula, textbooks, teaching staff, teaching method, infrastructure, and leaning environment K e y w o rd s : Internationalization, Higher Education, Teaching Foreign Languages, Chinese Language INTRODUCTION Internationalization of higher education has a long history, but in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century it has become a major trend in the activities of education institutions In Vietnam, this trend does not occur only as one o f activities of universities, but also as a policy, a way to reform the national higher education system, improving its quality to reach the regional and world standards The most common forms of internationalization of HE are: 1) Advanced programs (local programs designed according to foreign standards, using curricula, teaching materials, teaching method and quality assurance), and 2) Joint training programs in cooperation with foreign universities One of the most important problems of internationalization of HE is choosing and teach foreign languages Most of the advanced and joint programs use English as instruction medium, but there are some programs that use other languages such as French, Russian, Japanese and Chinese The contents of this paper focus on two issues The first part concerns the role of foreign languages as teaching medium in the process o f internationalization of higher education The second part studies the situation o f teaching foreign languages for internationalization of HE and suggest some solutions for improving effectiveness o f teaching Chinese language training at the Department o f International Programs,.Vietnam Commercial University 199 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives LANGUAGE AS TEACHING MEDIUM IN/FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HE IN VIETNAM Ai l A l In t â m o ệ Ỉ A n a l i v ^ Ì A n /vf u c in thck r A n f a v t n f n lA h o IỈT O Ý ÍA n i l l i u I I i u i i v i 1UIIÃ.UM V I I v i a I Li i l l Li iv«- w v i i i v A i V I v|iwMuiiB>